Splinter Cell Double Agent slitta a Settembre

[MaBru]

Paris – January 26, 2006 –Ubisoft Entertainment, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, today reported sales for the third quarter ended December 31, 2005.

Record sales for the third quarter: €250m (up 35%)
In line with the Group’s target, sales for the third quarter of 2005-2006 totaled a record 250 million euros , up 35% year-on-year.
This outstanding level of sales mainly reflects the successful launch of titles in December 2005, such as Peter Jackson’s King Kong The Official Game of the Movie and Prince of Persia® The Two Thrones™.
Overall, including the other titles in the catalogue, nine-month sales increased 29%, reaching 403 million euros.
This strong growth also reflects the positive market response to the new titles for next-generation portable consoles, which accounted for 15% of sales year-to-date.

“2005 was another successful year. We gained additional market share and further strengthened the Ubisoft brand: Prince of Persia® is increasingly recognized as the reference for action/adventure games, and Peter Jackson’s King Kong The Official Game of the Movie set new standards of quality, making Ubisoft a must-have partner for license holders. With years of continuous progress behind us, we ranked third independent publisher in Europe in 2005 and fifth in North America . Ubisoft is now established as one of the major players in our industry with highly valuable assets” said Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft Entertainment.
New gains in key world markets
The Group continued to gain market shares in key regions thanks to the success of titles launched throughout calendar year 2005.
Those gains are particularly substantial in North America where, all platforms combined, Ubisoft’s 2005 ranking improved as follows:
• 5th independent publisher in the United States , with the second-strongest growth among the top 10 independent publishers: sell-through rose 23%, compared with an overall industry software revenue decline of 4%. As a result, Ubisoft’s market share improved to 4.5% in 2005, compared with 3.5% in 2004.
• 4th independent publisher in Canada .
In other Western countries where Ubisoft’s sell-through grew 15% , 2005 rankings also improved substantially as follows:
• 2nd independent publisher in France and Germany .
• 3rd independent publisher in Italy .
• 4th independent publisher in the UK and Australia .
By combining sell-through in these regions, the Group ranks 4th largest independent publisher worldwide in 2005, excluding Japan, reaching its target stated in 2000.
The comparable rankings for 2004 were: 2nd independent publisher in Germany, 3rd in France and in Italy, 4th in Canada, 6th in the UK, and 7th in the US and Australia.

Outlook for fiscal year 2005-2006 revised downward
For the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2006, the Group now anticipates revenues of around 130 million euros. Therefore, for the fiscal year 2005-2006, the Company expects net revenues close to 530 million euros and positive current operating income, before stock-based compensation. This compares with the guidance previously provided of, respectively, 600 million euros and 52.5 million euros.
This update can be attributed to the following factors:
- The weakness of the video game software market in the US and in Europe. While the Company had anticipated this evolution and clearly outperformed its competitors, the negative market trend accelerated since the end of December 2005.
- With 4 million units already in place, lower than initially anticipated reorders of Peter Jackson’s King Kong The Official Game of the Movie are expected for the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2006;
- The rescheduling from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005-2006 to the first-half of 2006-2007 of the launch of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell®: Double Agent.

Yves Guillemot, added “With close to 8,000 units sold per million euro box office , the game Peter Jackson’s King Kong The Official Game of the Movie largely exceeded sell-through of the two other Hollywood license-based games released during the quarter, demonstrating Ubisoft’s superior marketing and distribution capabilities. However, with the softness in the market recorded over the past few weeks, we now expect a lower level of reorders for the end of the fiscal year.

In addition, the rescheduling to September 2006 of the launch of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double AgentTM is meant to release the title on all platforms simultaneously, including the Microsoft Xbox® 360 that should have a much larger installed base by that time. This will also enable to maintain the highest quality for which Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® is recognized. This rescheduling will ensure the best return from the coming release as well as from future sequels of this brand over time.

We are disappointed that our full year results should come below our initial guidance. Nevertheless, we are very proud that Ubisoft has clearly gained ground in 2005, in a challenging environment due to the arrival of next-generation home consoles. These gains were achieved while making major investments in these new platforms in order to leverage the Group’s strengths for future profitable growth. The market transition will continue in the short term. However, with its portfolio of stellar brands and widely recognized development talents, Ubisoft is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the long term positive prospects of the video game industry.”

http://www.ubisoftgroup.com/News/Info.aspx?nId=3738

[Com4]

azz, che colpo...
meglio comunque, se serve a migliorarlo...

[fukka75]

Secondo me aspettano che StarForce rilasci una versione ancora più cazzuta della recente 3.07, altro che migliorarlo